Now that arrests have been made in the Alabama church burnings, investigators are looking for links to other instances of arson there. Federal, local and state authorities involved in the investigation believe the three college students arrested in the case are responsible for at least nine of the ten fires that damaged or destroyed rural Alabama churches last month. But Christian activist Pat Mahoney of the Christian Defense Coalition believes more incidents may need to be probed. “We don’t know if they’re linked,” he says, “but a Christian business was burned in Tuscaloosa; a Methodist chapel [at] the University of Alabama was burned, and there was a copycat [church burning] in Eastern Alabama.” The three arson suspects in custody claim their crime spree began as a joke; but Mahoney wonders if there might be something more behind these fires. “When a church building is attacked, it isn’t just a building,” he insists, “but it’s what that building represents, the core values. So when a church is attacked, Christianity is attacked.” The Christian Defense Coalition spokesman has made several requests of the White House to issue a statement condemning these acts; but so far, President Bush has remained silent on the matter.

- Bill Fancher